one foot in front of the other

It has certainly been a full few weeks. My days are long and jam-packed with one class, lesson, rehearsal after another. Every morning my alarm goes off at 5:00 and every evening ends at 10:00 or 11:00 with either opera rehearsal or homework, depending on the night. I am still getting used to my schedule, and I have come very close to completely forgetting someone's lesson or a rehearsal...more than a few times. But somehow, I always make it in time!
We received the full score for our opera on Monday and will be attempting a complete run-through tomorrow night. The composer will be present, so I am looking forward to being able to work with him and catch his vision for the work. I have learned about 10 of the 100 pages....so that's what I'll be doing all day tomorrow! The music is challenging, more so for the singers, than the pianist...so hopefully it won't take too long to learn.
I had planned on finishing up an ethnomusicology paper this evening, but I decided instead to take a bit of a respite. It's been a struggle to find the balance between work and rest. I have succeeded, thus far, in taking a complete Sabbath on Sundays. No practicing, no homework - nothing. It's been wonderful for mind, body and spirit. So I am hoping to keep that up.....we'll see if it's possible. But the fact of the matter is that I can't just live for Sundays- I have to have some amount of rest during the week as well. But I'm not sure what that looks like when my schedule is as full as it is.
There have been plenty ups and downs in the last few weeks...and now that I am pausing for a bit, I have the time to reflect them. Moments of encouragement and affirmation, and plenty of moments of frustration, discouragement and doubt, as I am continually reminded of how much I have to learn. But I am working hard to remind myself that this is why I am here. I don't know it all. I have so much room to grow. And I don't need to do it or know it all today.

This quote from Zen Guitar sums it up well:

"Do not feel overwhelmed by the length of the journey. All you ever need to do is focus on one thing: what you are doing. Stay on the path and put one foot in front of the other - that is all. There is joy in the struggle."

Home, Part 2

I decided it was time for a few more pictures of my humble abode. So here is my living/dining room. Note the AWESOME chandelier. I have a matching one in my bedroom...they definitely add character!Here's another view of my kitchen. Note: when I first set up my kitchen, the microwave door wouldn't open because the shelf I bought had a lip around the edges. I needed something for the microwave to sit on to raise it higher. So what did I find, but two music theory books - the foundation of all my musical training - for my microwave to rest on. What a music nerd.... I have also had the privilege of hosting friends in my home. We celebrated my friend Katie's birthday last week. It was a fun little gathering, complete with balloons, a cake and a tiara.
And of course, Liz is here a fair amount as well. We try and eat together every few days...or now that I am getting busier, it's becoming once a week. I take my dinner down there or she brings hers up here...or we collaborate and create something together. This week it was breakfast for dinner...pancakes, bacon, and zucchini pancakes (with fresh zucchini from the farmers' market!).

The First Day of School

Peabody classes began a week ago; however, all of my more academic classes are on Tuesdays, so I didn't have them until yesterday. It's been a lot of "hurry-up-and-wait" and the calm-before-the-storm...so it felt good to actually go to class yesterday.

I usually begin my days in my new favorite practice room (it has windows), and around 7:30, Georgia, the custodian, comes in to say hello. I had a great friendship with the custodian in the Whitworth music building because last year I was there most mornings at 6AM. It makes me feel at home to have that connection here as well!

I have three 2-hour classes on Tuesday...so it's a bit of a marathon day. I begin with Ethnomusicology - which I think will be very interesting, as well as a lot of work! We had lots of philosophical discussion and even an attempt to define "music" in a way that can be understood cross-culturally. After an hour of deliberation, we gave up. What an uplifting start to my graduate school career....I can't answer the question: "What is music?" :o).

Right after that was Accompanying and Coaching Skills. I am so excited for that class! My private lesson teacher is the instructor, and I am always ready to spend more time with her! I had my first lesson on Friday, and it was wonderful - challenging, stimulating, overwhelming... After 3 years of accompanying experience without anyone to teach me how to interpret the repertoire or how to sound like an orchestra without killing my arms....I am so grateful to have a teacher!

We went over some basic diction rules in class yesterday, and then spent some time sightreading and singing along. I loved hearing about her philosophy on accompanying: "Learn to sing the vocal part first. It's how the composer wrote it - so it gives you a window into his process, and it also prevents you from thinking of it as a piano solo with a voice obligato. If you want to be one voice with the singer - you have to learn your music this way."

I also had my Music Bibliography class last night. It's a required class for grad. students, introducing them to the resources in the library, teaching them how to write papers and cite things, etc. Not exactly anyone's favorite class. But I am glad to get it out of the way early on. And I am thankful that Liz is in there with me...so we will help to keep each other awake!

Catching Up

Here are a few pictures to catch you up on the last few days:

Roasting marshmallows by candlelight during the hurricane.

Orioles vs. Yankees game at Camden Yards with Katie and Elizabeth (two singers from CA). Sadly, there were more Yankee fans present than Orioles fans....and I was reminded yet again why I hate the Yankees.